


The Family

by Angelwithwingsoffire



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mob, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Mob Boss Steve Rogers, Sam's POV, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-07
Updated: 2019-01-07
Packaged: 2019-10-06 01:21:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17335991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelwithwingsoffire/pseuds/Angelwithwingsoffire
Summary: When Sam Wilson retired from the military with his paramedical partner Riley to a small apartment in Brooklyn, he did not expect to find a front row seat into the workings of the Brooklyn mob.





	The Family

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this instead of sleeping so I'm hoping it's okay. I had an idea eating at me and I don't think I executed it as extensively as I wanted to but it's late and I'm tired so enjoy!

Sam didn’t know how _Steve’s Café_ had become his place to work (that was a total lie he knew it was because it was a block away from Riley’s new clinic and he liked the idea of being within a short sprint of his partner without being oppressively close even though they aren’t partners anymore and Sam doesn’t need to be around him all the time) but he really did enjoy it. It was a nice place to study and the owner, Steve, always gave him a good deal on the snacks he bought to assuage his pain when he couldn’t get the answers right on a quiz. Looking back, he could pinpoint the day when things probably started to change, but at the time it was just a normal Tuesday.

“Yo!” Sam called, pulling open the door. “I hope you’ve got that machine warmed up because I have an online test due in five hours and I have got to pass this one.”

“As a matter of fact, I even have your first cup already poured.” The small blonde namesake of the shop behind the counter grinned, sliding a mug across the counter. “I figured you’d have another test soon and knew you’d be stressed about it.”

“You are a blessing among men.” Sam grinned, grabbing the mug and inhaling deeply.

“Yea yea.” Stave chuckled. “Get to work and you can pay for it with your next order.”

“Blessing.” Sam repeated, heading for his usual table in the corner where he could see the whole shop and out the front window easily. He knew _Steve’s_ was safe, but sometimes old habits die hard.

Sam worked in silence for a long while, able to ignore patrons as they came in and out of the shop in a steady stream. He worked his way through the last review work he had for his test and decided to get up and get a refill before he opened the timed exam.

“Well loooook who it is.” A voice drawled as the door to the back room opened.

Sam laughed, seeing that while he had been working Clint had come in to work. “You look like shit.”

“Why thank you.” Clint laughed, miming a hair flip. “I call it ‘I didn’t know wine could give you a hangover’ what do you think?”

“Again, you look like shit.” Sam grinned. The two of them had hit it off pretty well early on in Sam’s occupation of the corner table and most of their conversations centered around insulting the other.

“I will never understand you two.” Steve smiled fondly, stepping out of Clint’s way. “Clint, you could to hold things down while I get another batch of the soda bread made?”

“I gotchu boss.” Clint nodded, grinning lazily. “So long as this pug’s butt doesn’t cause any trouble.”

“The only trouble here seems to be your trouble drinking wine.” Sam shot back, sliding his empty mug across the counter.

“And your trouble getting a medical degree without insane amounts of caffeine.” Clint pointed out, grabbing the mug from the counter.

“God I wish I was getting a medical degree.” Sam sighed. “This is just a course to keep my certification from the service and prove to programs that I could be hired as a nurse and I won’t accidently kill someone.”

“That sounds horrific my dude.” Clint nodded solemnly.

“Completely.” Sam agreed. “But it’s worth it if it means I don’t need more years of schooling before I can get a job.”

“How’d Riley get one so fast then? Didn’t he get the same programming as you?”

“Nah he got a separate certification while we were in that proves his worth. I thought it was pointless at the time and well, here we are.”

Clint laughed. “He showed you, didn’t he?”

“God shut up and give me my coffee.” Sam complained. “I don’t need you telling me he’s better than me when he does it enough.”

“I know the feeling.” Clint sighed, passing the mug back and ringing up his refill and original drink. “We all have a better half.”

Sam just grunted, not wanting to think about Riley being his half of anything, and slid a ten across the counter. “Keep the change.”

“We both know you’ll put it towards a piece of soda bread in an hour when Steve’s done with them anyways.”

Sam threw a grin over his shoulder as he walked away. “We both know you’ll sneak one out of the case before he even gets finished putting them down.”

Clint just flipped him off, not bothering to give a bigger response.

Sam settled in with his fresh coffee and cracked his knuckles, getting ready to dig in to the online test for the course of hell that he hates that he has to take just to get a job even though he spent the last decade saving people’s lives mid-air on the other side of the world.

By the time he finished the test (barely getting it submitted before the portal closed), two more hours had passed, and he was out of coffee and very hungry.

Getting up and heading for the counter, he slowed down so that the two elderly ladies just coming in didn’t have to wait behind him or listen to his and Clint’s idea of correct social interactions.

“I just don’t know Caroline.” One of them was saying to the other. “It just doesn’t sound safe.”

“You’re scared of shadows in your closet Adaline.” Caroline sighed. “He’s not doing any harm.”

“Not only is he apparently the one running that horrible Irish mob on this side of the city, but now he’s killing people!” Now that got Sam’s attention and he started actually focusing on their words instead of idly overhearing.

“Only the people who deserve it!” Caroline exclaimed. “The Captain hasn’t killed anyone who didn’t earn their death.”

“You cannot tell me that poor pastor down in the ward deserved what that monster did to him.”

“We all know what that ‘poor pastor’ did to those altar boys behind closed doors. He was just the only one not willing to let him continue.”

“I cannot and will not condone that sort of violence.”

“What happened to him?” Clint cut in slyly. “The pastor I mean.”

“Well it’s just rumors you understand that right young man?” Caroline said quickly. “The papers won’t publish any photos or description of it.”

“Yea but people will always talk.” Clint drawled. “So what are they saying?”

“Don’t you go spreading these rumors now.” Adaline scolded Caroline quietly.

“They say he was strung up on a cross in the back room.” Caroline leaned in to whisper, still speaking loud enough that Sam could hear with little effort. “Right over the bed where he used to hurt all those boys. And they found pictures under the mattress. His little trophies. I say he got what was coming to him.”

“That is quite the story.” Clint nodded. “Now what can I get you from our fine establishment in exchange?”

The ladies ordered their drinks, Adaline scolding Caroline even more for her opinions, and after they’d left Sam stepped up.

“That’s certainly something.” He started.

“You hadn’t heard about it?” Clint asked.

Sam shook his head. “I’d heard whispers about that Captain fellow when Riley and I first moved into the area, but everything was always just whispers. You think he did it?”

Clint shrugged. “I think there’s a kernel of truth in every story gossipers spread around. It’s just a matter of what piece it is.”

“It’s nuts to think there’s somewhere out there, doing all of this, and the police don’t have any idea who he is or how to catch him. He’s like a ghost.”

“It really is something.” Clint nodded. “Refill for you?”

“Yea thanks.” Sam nodded. “I have to cover a whole nother chapter before I can head home tonight.”

“Can’t do it at home?”

“Nah, Riley’s big on using his personal time by trying to become a vegetable on the couch and watching bad television and those shows are surprisingly distracting. And the walls are thin so even in my room I can hear it and can’t focus. Here is easier and more efficient.”

“Makes sense and I wish him good luck.” Clint grinned, toasting the air with Sam’s refilled mug before sliding it over to him.

“Thanks.” Sam smiled, leaving the money on the counter to cover the refill. He returned to his table and his pile of work, pulling his book open to the next chapter and settling in for a long time of shoving technical terms for things he already knew into his skull and praying none of it slipped out.

He lost track of time, and by the time he had finished the chapter and it’s worksheets, it was later than he’d ever stayed, he was ready for a real meal, and his back was killing him from sitting over his books all day. He got up slowly, rolling his shoulders and groaning a little too loudly.

“Finally done over there, old man!” Clint laughed.

“Watch who you’re calling old, you aren’t that far behind me.” Sam shot back, getting his stuff packed up into his bag again.

“Yea but my age still starts with a two.” Clint grinned. “Want a muffin to go?”

“Nah,” Sam sighed, heading to the counter to return his mug. “Hopefully Riley’ll have dinner either made or ordered by the time I get home. I’d love a good steak but I doubt he’s that good to me.”

“You have got to make an honest man out of him.” Clint told him.

Sam rolled his eyes. “You know full well we ain’t that kind of partners.”

“And what a pity it is.” Clint sighed. “All the hearts I could hear break.”

“Goodbye Clint.” Sam drawled, heading for the door. As he opened the door to head out, another man opened it from the outside to come in. He was massive, with a face that looked like it could kill you with a single look and muscles that definitely could crush a man, and long, unreasonably soft-looking hair. Sam nearly ran into him before backing up. “Sorry man, come on in. Coffee is blood after all.”

The man didn’t respond, just pushed past him. Sam shrugged. Guess he really needed coffee.

***

Over the next month, Sam ended up spending more and more time at the coffee shop as the end of his course slowly approached and it began to take over his life. He rarely left earlier than nightfall, apologizing to Riley often that he was never home to cook like he used to be, but Riley just blew him off (after making him promise he’d make a gourmet meal after the course finished) telling him to focus on his work. And in all his nights staying late at the coffee shop, he learned something. The man he ran into on that random Tuesday he first had to stay late was another regular at the coffee shop. Possibly even a more established regular than he was because Clint never asked him what he wanted or even charged him for the Irish soda bread or large black coffee he always got.

The man was honestly one of the most interesting enigmas Sam had ever encountered. He never spoke, he was never spoken too unless someone ran into him like Sam had, and he always came in, took his food, and sat in the corner opposite Sam. It was just as much a strategic place as Sam’s table was, (and was his other preferred place to sit when someone took his table before he got there) but Sam’s table had the benefit of being near the kitchen, so he could smell all the delicious food. If it wasn’t for one daily ritual, Sam would honestly be convinced that this man was one of the ones they had trained them to look out for when they were in the service. Every day at six o-clock, when Steve finished his work for the day and came out of the kitchen in an explosion of happiness and the mystery man’s face would crack into a small smile with joy echoing out of his eyes. The always either left the shop together or went to the apartment upstairs, where Sam was pretty sure Steve lived. The man cared about Steve, that much was obvious, and that much was enough to put Sam at ease. He trusted Steve and his judgement of character. If he thought the mystery man was a good man, then Sam knew he had to be.

Over three weeks after he first ran into the guy, he finally figured out how to get some information out of Clint, going up for a refill right after the man walked in and got his usual.

“So, he doesn’t have to pay but you’re still gonna drink me dry getting my lifeblood here.” Sam teased.

“Dude, it ain’t my decision.” Clint snorted. “That’s Bucky, he’s Steve’s best guy. I don’t think he’s ever had to pay for anything from this place. It’s not like he tries to drink us dry like you do.”

Sam tucked the new information away without stopping his banter, just like he was trained. “If you hadn’t gotten me so dependent, I wouldn’t have this problem, would I?”

“Your problem, your fault.” Clint grinned, filling his mug up again. “I manage to work here without drinking gallons of the stuff.”

“Yes, but you also eat half your weight in soda bread every week.” Sam pointed out. “So you really shouldn’t throw stones in your glass house of lies.”

“You focus less on your metaphors and more on your medical books and maybe you wouldn’t be here at six fifteen on a Thursday night trying to finish yet another test.”

“Oh, fuck you.” Sam groaned.

“You’re not my type.” Clint grinned, happy to get the last word.

Sam just rolled his eyes and went back to his work.

***

The day that it was obvious that things changed was a Wednesday night. He went out to get dinner, got a phone call, and his entire life shattered. It took him a long moment after he hung up to realize he was still on the sidewalk and only a block from _Steve’s_. He had to convince his body to start moving and then after that he couldn’t stop.

He stumbled into the coffee shop, crashing into the door and then falling inside.

“Dude!” Clint exclaimed. He jumped over the counter and ran over. “Steve! Get out here!”

Sam fell to his knees, unable to function beyond noticing Clint dropping down beside him and then Steve joining on the other side of him after a moment.

“Sam.” Steve said slowly. “Sam, I need you to take a deep breath. You’re hyperventilating and if you don’t start taking deep breaths you’re going to pass out and we’ll have to call an ambulance.”

“Steve, do I need to get a glass of water?”

“No, Clint.” Steve sighed. “That is not going to help.”

“But he’s not breathing.” Clint exclaimed.

“He will.” Steve was certain. With a surprising amount of strength, he grabbed Sam’s head, pulled it against his thin chest, and covered his mouth tightly to force him to breathe through his nose. After only a moment of struggling, Sam’s breathing was forced to regulate itself back to a normal speed and he pulled back with a start.

“You alright?” Clint asked, carefully laying a hand on Sam’s arm.

“No.” Sam gasped.

“What happened?” Steve asked instead.

“Riley.” Sam panted.

“Take a deep breath.” Steve advised. “Breathe in deep until you can feel it in your toes and then breathe out as slow as you can.”

Sam took his advice, taking a few long breaths before speaking again.

“Riley’s missing.” He managed. “He was visiting family upstate because his mom was sick. I thought he was still there and was just too busy to call me, but his mom just called me. She got better a week ago and Riley left their house to come back down here but he never got here.”

“What happened?” Clint asked softly.

“She just got a call from a police department an hour from the city. They found his car. In a ditch. With blood in it. They said it looked like he was dragged from the driver’s seat. She thought he was here and just forgot to call when he got here. He’s been gone for a week and none of us even knew.”

Clint and Steve pulled him into them as he broke down again, this time in tears as the reality of the situation crashed down around him.

He felt Steve shift slowly and heard someone walking around, but couldn’t pay attention as he thought about how much pain and suffering Riley might be going through. He selfishly didn’t even want to think about Riley being dead instead of suffering.

“It’s going to be okay.” Steve assured him, rubbing his hand along his spine. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“I-I never told him.” Sam cried. “I never told him.”

“Never told him what?” Steve asked.

“That he was in love.” Clint whispered. “I always teased you about it, but you really do love him, don’t you?”

“More than I knew.” Sam managed to say.

“It’s going to be okay.” Steve said again. He made eye contact with Clint over Sam’s head and then moved Sam to his lap and got to his feet. Sam looked up enough to see that the only other person in the shop was Bucky, the un-mystery man, who had apparently flipped the signs to closed when Sam collapsed. Steve went over to him and they were talking in hushed voices, so Sam only caught a few words.

“Find – Hydra – Rum – Rescue.” Steve was saying in hushed voices. Bucky listened intently, nodded, and then swept out of the building.

Steve came back to Sam’s side and crouched down. “Come on Sam. You can come upstairs, have some warm bread, and stay until you’re ready to go home. Clint or I can go with you when you go in case you need support around Riley’s things. We aren’t going to let you go through this alone.”

“I’m okay.” Sam panted. “I’m fine.”

“Nah, you’re stuck with me now.” Clint told him. “You bantered your way into my life and I’m not letting you deal with this on your own like some knucklehead military bastard. Either you let me come home with you, or I will drag you home with me.”

“I don’t have a say, do I?” Sam chuckled.

“Not at all.” Steve nodded. “Now let Clint take you upstairs and I’ll get that batch of bread out of the oven and meet you up there.”

Sam sighed, knowing he was beat, and let Clint pull him to his feet.

“Dude, you need a tissue.” Clint told him.

Sam snorted, regretting it immediately as the snot in his sinuses proved Clint right.

“Let’s go.” Clint guided him towards the door to the stairs up to the apartment. “We’ll get you cleaned up and you can tell me all your sappy stories about this guy of yours.”

Sam chuckled, letting Clint push him up the stairs and into the apartment. He pushed him immediately into the couch and threw a box of tissues at him.

“Blow your snot and put it in the trash please.” Clint requested oh so impolitely. “I’m going to get us both a beer. You need one and I’m going to need one if I’m going to listen to your sap.”

“Your bedside manner sucks.” Sam shouted to him (after blowing his nose so he sounded like a human instead of some creature talking through a tuba).

“Yep!” Clint grinned in agreement as he came back into the room and handed Sam a beer. “I’m an asshole. But I refuse to change in this time of turmoil. I will be your wanker anchor.”

Sam snorted and then had to blow his nose again before he spoke. “You’re a good guy. A complete asshole. But a good guy.”

“I thank you.” Clint laughed, toasting his beer bottle. “Now, tell me about your guy. What makes you love him?”

“I don’t know what started it.” Sam sighed. “But I think I started realizing it after we retired. I was terrified he was going to find a life and leave me behind and I’d never get to see him again. Instead, he got an apartment with me, made meals or ordered in my favorites on nights I got home late, and made sure I stayed on top of all my bullshit even though that clinic has been running him dry ever since he started.”

“He takes care of you.” Clint nodded.

“He really does. And god, if they don’t find him-”

“Don’t think like that.” Clint cut in. “If you start thinking like that, you’ll never come back from it. He’s going to come back to you. So long as you believe that, it’s going to be okay.”

“I don’t know what I’m gonna do.” Sam sighed, staring into his beer bottle. “He’s all I have here.”

“You’re wrong.” Clint told him. “You have us. And we’re not gonna let you take this on alone.”

***

A week later and there was no news. The police hadn’t found anything, there had been no ransom demand or bodies discovered in the entire tristate area, and there were no leads on any of the evidence in the car. Clint had helped him email his professor the day he’d gotten the news about Riley to get an extension on the final to have a few extra days to deal with it, and now that he’d taken the test and finished the course, he had nothing to distract him from the hole in his apartment. He wanted nothing more than to celebrate passing the course with flying colors by having a fancy dinner with Riley and finally confessing his feelings. But instead he avoided the apartment as much as possible, couldn’t sleep at all, and would probably be starving if Steve hadn’t started force-feeding him at the café. Walking home from one of those dinners is when Sam’s life definitely changed. Forever.

He was a little tipsy, having drank a few more of Steve’s beers before he decided to return to the empty apartment. Looking back, he hates that he let it happen, but at the time he was too sad and too tipsy to notice the two men stepping out of the alley to follow him until he was running into two more in front of him.

“Well hello there.” A rough voice sneered. “Maybe you’ll finally send my message to the Captain.”

“Yo dude.” Sam sighed. “I don’t know any fucking Captain beyond the captains that ran my ass in the air force.”

“You can’t lie to me.” The man snarled. That was all Sam heard before there was a sharp pain in his head and everything went black.

When Sam woke back up, it took his eyes a while to adjust to the low light as he looked around. He was in some kind of concrete basement chained to a wall like a dungeon. It stank and was uncomfortably cold and something was dripping into a puddle somewhere and overall, Sam hated it already. He groaned when he tried to move and his body made it known just how stiff and sore he was.

“You’re finally awake then.” A voice came from the shadows. It sounded familiar but Sam couldn’t place it.

“Yea.” He groaned back.

“I watched them bring you in.” The voice told him. “You looked in pretty bad shape.”

“Thanks?”

“Nah I just meant…well I guess I meant sorry.” The voice sighed. “If I wasn’t chained up as tight as you are, I’d come over and try and help. Lot of good field medicine knowledge does when you can’t get to the patient.”

That phrase sparked a memory in Sam’s brain and he sat up like a shot, not caring about the instant pain. “Riley?!”

“How do you-wait Sam?! Sam is that you?!”

“Oh god, Riley.” Sam sat back, crying in a mixture of relief and pain. “I can’t believe it’s you. I never wanted to believe you were gone but god. Riley its been so long I was starting to worry.”

“How long has it been?” Riley asked. “Days don’t really count so much down here.”

“It was almost two weeks from when you were taken when they grabbed me.” Sam told him. “I don’t know how long it’s been since then though.”

“I’m thinking a day or two. They’ve fed me twice and given me water a few times since they dragged you in.”

“Any idea who they are?”

“No.” Riley sighed. “They keep asking me for information on some guy called ‘The Captain’ but I don’t know who that even is.”

“I heard rumors about him being the mob boss of our area. But I don’t know anything more than rumors I hear from old ladies.”

“Why do they think we know him?”

“I have no idea.” Sam groaned. “We flew hundreds of ops overseas and some asshole wannabe mobster is the one who took us out?”

“Sarge would kick our ass.” Riley chuckled.

“Maybe he’ll still get the chance to.”

“You have any leads on me when you were out there?”

“…No.” Sam admitted softly. “They had nothing.”

“Then I’m gonna live by the same motto I’ve been.”

“What’s that?”

“Fuck these fuckers I won’t say shit till they kill me.”

Sam managed a chuckle against the pain. “Same old Riley.”

“You know it.” Riley’s voice came back.

Any joy in the room disappeared immediately when the sound of a door opening echoed through the room along with a low, rough laugh.

“Morning boys. You feeling like telling me about The Captain now or am I going to have to beat it out of you?”

“Fuck you.” Riley spat. “I’ve told you I don’t know anything. And neither does he.”

“Well I suppose I’ll find out.” The man chuckled. “Maybe you’ll talk more if I beat your boy. Or maybe he’ll start talking listening to you scream like you do when I get the right spot.”

“Fuck you.” Sam echoed Riley’s words. “I’ve got nothing, you know it, and you’re a sick bastard just enjoying this.”

The man laughed. “Maybe so. But I’m the one in power here and you’re going to sing like a canary whether you want to or not.”

***

Over the next few days (Sam thought it was a few days at least Riley was right that time was an illusion down here) they established a pattern. They would get beaten to a pulp by men in all black demanding information about ‘The Captain’ and someone called ‘The Soldier’ but they didn’t know anything so they just got beat. Then they would get a small cup of water, some bread, and some dried up meat before they passed out from the pain only to be woken up by the door an unknown amount of time later for another beating. It was hell.

“Think anyone’s ever coming?” Riley asked one time when they woke up before the door opened.

“I hope so.” Sam sighed. “I had hope you were alive and here you are. So now I just hope for rescue.”

“May God save our souls.” Riley prayed as the door opened again.

“How are you two doing my pathetic little toys?” The man laughed. “Still alive?”

“You know it fuckface.” Sam spat at him.

“Oooooh we even got a little spunk back.” The man sneered. “Don’t worry, I’ll beat it out of you.” With that promise, he didn’t wait before slamming a fist into Sam’s face.

“What, no questions?” Sam panted after spitting out more blood.

“I don’t care about what you know anymore.” The man shrugged. “You’re just for fun now.”

There was a few muffled noises above them, like a scuffle, and the man sighed. “You.” He pointed at someone by the door. “Go find out what those assholes are doing.”

The man left and their torturer turned back to them. “You’re not getting out of this just because they’ve decided to be stupid.”

There were more noises and Riley laughed, recognizing one of the sounds. Though muffled, he would never forget the sound of that gun.

“I don’t think they’re being dumb.” Riley laughed. “You’re fucked now.”

The man in front of them growled, kicking out at Riley and instantly knocking him out.

“Oi!” Sam shouted. “Get the fuck away from him!”

“I’m not letting you walk out of here.” The man growled, grabbing Sam’s neck and hauling him into the air, slamming him into the wall with the obvious intent to strangle him to death. “You’re going to die at my hand.”

Before the asshole could finish strangling the air out of Sam’s body, the door opened one last time with the loudest bang and then there was a body tackling the asshole.

Sam groaned in pain as he hit the floor, his head smacking back against the wall and giving him instant triple vision. In the shadowy room, with his vision blurred, he tried to look at who had rescued him. It was two guys, one massive guy with a gleaming silver arm still beating the shit out of the asshole who had been beating them, and one smaller guy with blonde hair and a slightly familiar voice as he told the other man to stop. Sam knew that voice. It was…It was…He passed out before he could finish the thought.

***

When Sam woke up again, it was to the worst beeping noise in the world at just the right frequency to feel like he was being stabbed in the ear every time it went off. He flailed out with one arm to try and find it to turn it off, but that only made it beep louder and louder until there were hands grabbing him, voices telling him to calm down, and then a sudden rise into consciousness as he realized what happened.

They had been rescued.

Riley and he had been rescued.

They had been rescued by The Captain and The Soldier.

And The Captain…The Captain was…

Sam fell asleep again before he could finish his thoughts.

The next time he woke up, he was much more lucid and was able to open his eyes and look around. He was relieved to see Riley in the other bed, looking about as bad as he felt, but Riley was _alive_. He was alive and breathing and _here_.

“Ah Mr. Wilson,” a voice said as the door opened. “Glad to see you’re awake again.”

Sam turned his head to see two men in suits standing in the door.

“My name is Agent Johnson and this is Agent Hall.” One man was saying. “We’re from the FBI’s gang unit here in New York.”

Sam just stared at him.

“We know you’re in a lot of pain.” He smiled, obviously trying to look sympathetic but he wasn’t very good at it. “But we would appreciate it if you could tell us anything you remember about what happened to you.”

“What happened?” Sam asked.

“Yes.” The man nodded. “You were kidnapped over a week ago, two weeks after your roommate, and both of you were rescued from the base of the Hydra gang in Harlem and found sitting outside the base when the police and EMT’s arrived answering a 911 call that only said something big was going down.”

“We have reason to believe you were rescued by Brooklyn’s ‘Captain’.” The other man, Agent Hall, cut in. “And we want you to tell us what you know about him.”

Sam stared at them for a long moment. This time he knew that this moment was going to be the one changed everything.

“No.” Sam said. “I don’t know anything. I don’t know why people like you and whoever that asshole beating us was, but we don’t know any ‘Captain’ and we sure as shit didn’t ask to be a part of this.”

“We understand that.” Agent Johnson assured him. “But we were hoping you may have seen something during your rescue that may be of assistance to us.”

“I don’t know.” Sam sighed.

“Gentlemen.” A female voice slid in. The agents stepped aside to reveal a nurse with short red hair and a kind smile. “We have told you. They received massive damage during their stay with the men of Hydra and cannot be expected to remember anything at all, now or ever. Traumatic injuries often cause amnesia.”

Agent Hall obviously wanted to argue, but he was quieted by Agent Johnson and they turned to leave.

“If you do remember,” Agent Johnson turned back at the last second. “Please don’t hesitate to call the tip line for the case against the Captain.”

Sam nodded, just to get them off his case, and they finally left.

“I’m sorry about them.” The nurse said kindly. “I’m Natasha, your day nurse. Now that you’re awake and your friend awoke earlier, it won’t be much longer before you’re able to be discharged. The doctors want to keep you under observation one more night at least to make sure you’re good and then you can finally go home.”

“Thank you.” Sam smiled.

Natasha nodded. “Now, I came because there are two gentlemen who were requesting to see you if you would like to.”

“Who?”

“They said they were called Steve and Bucky, I believe?”

Sam chuckled. “Yea. Send them in.”

Natasha nodded and left the room quickly. It wasn’t long before Steve and Bucky came in to take her place.

“So.” Steve sighed.

“So.” Sam echoed.

“I guess the secret’s out?” Steve chuckled a little.

“Yea.” Sam said slowly. “A little bit. _Captain_.”

Steve had the decency to blush a deep red. “I didn’t want you to get involved in this. Please know that.”

“I do.” Sam nodded. Thinking about it, that much was obvious. He wasn’t wrong that Steve was a good man. Just a different kind of good man.

“You know who we are now.” Steve spoke carefully. “And we’re here to apologize that us hiding it from you ended up with you and Riley in danger. I know how much he means to you.”

“I’m not mad that you hid who you are.” Sam assured him. “But I hope you can understand that I will need to talk to him about this? All of this.”

Steve nodded. “You tell him anything and everything you deem necessary. We won’t stop you. We ask you don’t tell anyone else, but he is your other half. I won’t make you hide from him.”

“Thank you.” Sam smiled slightly. “Are you two okay?”

“We’re fine.” Steve smiled back. “Buck here has a few split knuckles on his right hand and we’ve both got bruises but other than that, we’re in good shape. It was worth getting you away from them.”

“Who were they?”

“Hydra.” Steve sighed. “My biggest enemy. They’ve been trying to find out who I am for years. Brock Rumlow is the name of the guy who captured you. Don’t worry about him, he won’t be coming after you again.”

“Is he-?”

“Yes.” Steve cut him off. “We try not to kill, but when someone takes someone we consider family, we don’t hold back. And Bucky has always had a soft spot for your banter with Clint at the coffee shop.”

“Is Clint part of this?”

“I can’t tell you anything else.” Steve told him. “You’re family, but you aren’t part of this. You don’t want this knowledge. The more you have, the more people like Rumlow will come after you.”

Sam nodded, understanding. “Let me talk to Riley and I’ll come by the shop someday and we can talk.”

“Sounds good.” Steve nodded. “Come on Buck. Let’s let them rest.”

Bucky nodded and turned to follow before turning back to Sam. “I’m glad you’re alive.”

It was the first words he’d ever heard Bucky speak and it was such a surprisingly nice voice and nice moment that Sam laid there in stunned silence until they were gone.

“Who was that?” Riley mumbled, snapping Sam out of it.

“I’ll tell you later.” Sam managed to say. “After we get out of here.”

“’Kay.” Riley sighed, deciding that was a good enough answer to go back to sleep.

Sam didn’t go back to sleep. He had a lot to think about before they got out of the hospital.

***

Two weeks later, after they’d been released, had a lot of long conversations, drank a lot of alcohol, and finally confessed to each other that they had both been pining for years, they headed out of their apartment again, hand in hand, and headed down the street to the coffee shop.

It was late in the evening, seeing as they’d confirmed going to Steve’s apartment for dinner through messages with Clint the days before, and they headed up the back stairs to the door.

It opened almost immediately after they knocked to reveal a smiling Steve.

“Hello you two!” Steve exclaimed. “Come on in and sit down! Bucky is almost done with dinenr.”

“He cooks?” Riley asked in shock.

Steve laughed. “I may be great at baking, but he can do some mean stuff with a knife that doesn’t have to hurt someone. He’s king of cooking in this house.”

Sam rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to respond before his rolling eyes caught sight of a picture frame he’d never seen before, despite being there a few times when Riley was missing. “Wait a second.” He gasped. “You two are married?!”

Steve blushed, chuckling a little when he saw what Sam had spotted. “Um. Yea. We are.”

“How have I not seen this before?!”

“We hid it when you were here a lot because we didn’t know how to explain our relationship without talking about the secrets we were keeping.” Steve explained. “But he’s my best guy.”

“Your face is funny looking babe.” Riley laughed.

“Shut up.” Sam smacked his shoulder. “Just because you’re still on painkillers doesn’t mean you can be a bitch.”

Riley just grinned and kissed his cheek.

“And you figured out your lovelife.” Steve smiled.

“I wasn’t going to let more life go by without him.” Sam blushed a little. “Not after all that.”

“That I am exceptionally good at arguing on painkillers.” Riley grinned.

“Shut the hell up.” Sam sighed again. “Steve, please feed this asshole so he shuts up.”

“I’ll see what we can do.” Steve laughed at the two of them. “Come on. Bucky’s gotta be done by now.”

As they settled in and started eating the delicious surf n’ turf steak and shrimp meal that Bucky had made them, it almost seemed like four normal people eating a meal. Instead of a notorious mob boss, his main enforcer, and two former kidnapping victims.

“Okay.” Sam finally broke the tension. “I think we know what conversation needs to happen.”

“We will respect any decision you’ve made.” Steve told him, sitting up straight.

Bucky didn’t speak, but he did nod and put his hand up on Steve’s shoulder in a show of support.

“Well.” Sam bit his lip and glanced at Riley. “We want to join your family.”

“What.” Steve said, looking shocked.

“We want to join your family.” Sam repeated. “Officially.”

“You want to join?” Steve asked, still looking astonished.

Sam nodded, glancing at Riley again to see him doing the same. “We’ve talked about it. A lot. And we think that you are trying to make the world a better place. It’s in a weird way and we don’t know if we’ll be of much use at first, but we’re both trained in field and combat medicine as well as more complex stuff now. We want to help you.”

“I can’t go back to the clinic.” Riley added. “I was slowly killing myself working there. With you at least I know if I’m exhausted, you’ll let me go to bed.”

“Absolutely.” Steve nodded immediately. “You’re sure about this?”

“We are.” Sam nodded, taking Riley’s hand. “We definitely are.”

Steve grinned. “Well, then I guess there’s only one thing left. Welcome to the family.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know your thoughts!
> 
> Also! I defined the people I knew were in Steve's inner circle for this so here you go:  
> Bucky – “The Winter Solider” The enforcer for the Captain. Many people think he is the Captain.  
> Clint – “Archer” Special ops/Assassin. He looks like a cinnamon roll but he can and will kill you.  
> Natasha – “Black Widow” Infiltration specialist. She becomes whoever they need her to be.  
> Wanda - "The Witch" She is amazing at getting inside people's heads and getting them to tell her anything she asks.  
> Pietro - "Quicksilver" The Thief of the team. He can steal anything and never gets caught.


End file.
